If they’re going to start charging tax as well, the least they can do is factor that into the price listing on the store. You really have no idea if you’re going to be taxed unless you go through it since the changes.
There’s a confirmation screen before you make the purchase that shows you the total with tax.
Although I’ve always had tax added to my gem purchases, so this is not a new thing for me. (I’ve only ever used the in-game mechanism, never gem cards) I wonder if that might be because I live in the state in which the company is based.
“Be angry about legendary weapons, sure, but what about the recent drought of content?”
-Mike O’Brien
Because we can’t be angry about both?
Agreed, you are buying a good. If I went to the Target and bought a Gem Card it’s taxed. Forget about the EU where the tax is already built into the price.
I buy Gem Cards all the time and they’re never taxed. The purchase is always exactly $25.
A gem card of 25$ will buy you the same as 25$ in the store.
So, the tax is already included, plain and simple.
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Always carries a towel – Never panics – Eats cookies.
A gem card of 25$ will buy you the same as 25$ in the store.
So, the tax is already included, plain and simple.
No, gem cards are explicitly excluded from sales tax by most states as are other gift cards. If you buy gems directly, they fall under a different section of the tax code and sales tax has to be collected for most states. It defies common sense, but that’s what happens when politicians start making rules to cover every possible little thing.
I read somewhere once that we are still paying a tax on our phone service that was originally instituted to pay for the war of 1812. Think it’s time for tax reform yet?
Actually it was a tariff, and it doesn’t exist any more according to what I can find on-line. No sense in spreading that around anymore.
Don’t ever think you know what’s right for the other person.
He might start thinking he knows what’s right for you. —Paul Williams
…..
Sorry, but what you’re saying is not necessarily true. Sometimes taxes are implemented on TANGIBLE goods, sometimes on services, sometimes on both. In my province, we have both a Provincial Sales Tax (PST) which imposes a consumer tax on tangible goods, and a Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is a consumer tax imposed on goods and services. So, to give you an example, we pay GST only on legal services, but pay both taxes on a DVD purchase. In my province, gift cards are not taxed, likely because you pay the tax when you use the card to purchase a good. I can touch the card, but it’s not taxable.
You may want to refrain from making sweeping statements about something you may not fully understand.
Why are you nitpicking what I stated when I specifically stated SALES TAX? There is not much room for interpretation there and I did concede that there are LOTS of different taxes in lots of different countries / locals in a later post, but that was NOT the issue here. The issue is how narrow minded and reactionary the OP was being about his stance that something that is not physical cannot (and never should) be taxed….THAT is certainly not true.
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Unless they adjust the gem amount to compensate for the tax, my gem purchases are over with for good. I went to place a gem order today and when I saw tax was included, I cancelled. I won’t pay tax on gems, I will just manage without them.
After some research it appears that states don’t require sellers to charge sales tax for goods and services sold in states where they have no physical presence. If purchases are made in states that normally would have a sales tax associated with goods and services then that state of the buyer does require them to self report their sales taxes and pay them in their own due course at tax time.
If you haven’t been getting charged sales tax and you live in a state that has sales taxes you’re still liable for them when you file your anual taxes!
If you’re in a sales tax exempt state (Oregon, Delaware, Montana, Alaska, or New Hampshire)(VA does have sales tax) you don’t need to be worried about sales tax just yet. If proposed legislation known as the Market Fairness Act of 2013 is passed there will be a uniform method of taxation on all online purchases regardless of the location of the buyer or seller.
Why even tax online purchases?
States generate revenue through taxes to run public services, pay the wages of people who keep the social infostructure running, law enforcement, medical services, social services, and many other needs. Sales tax can account for up to one third of a states revenue. Using online purchases as a loophole to cheaper prices takes that money away from the government coffers, puts local business at a disadvantage, and can be perceived as tax evasion of a sort.
If you don’t want to pay cash for gems that’s fine. If you don’t like the items in the gem store, that’s up to you. If it’s a budget issue we all understand. If you don’t want to support a business because of the way they operate we’re all entitled to do so and it’s our power as consumers.
If you don’t want to buy gems cause you’re paying taxes then you better move to a tax free state or boycott buying everything else. Saying you’re not buying gems because you’re getting itemized taxes seems ill informed and immature.
When you purchase a gift card you’re not technically making a purchase and this doesn’t actually classify as income for the retailer. You’re just transfering money into a holding account of sorts that falls under a special ledger and not as a debit credit (for those familiar with general ledger accounting).
From the company side of things they won’t be able to report your $50 gift card as income until it’s redeemed; and at the time it is, the purchase gets taxed appropriately. If you got taxed on the gift card and used it on 4 different purchases that each got taxed you’d be overpaying the government. Since the gift card bears no original tax they skip the double dipping .
As mentioned in my previously quoted post, even though you don’t see sales tax included in your online purchase you’re still supposed to report these purchases to be appropriately taxed at tax time. In your brick and mortar store they’re not charging you tax because as you make your online transactions you’ll either be directly billed for taxes or won’t be and will have to be an honest consumer and report it yourself. I’m lazy and bad at record keeping so I would just prefer my online entities to tax me directly.
ANet isn’t jacking up prices and pocketing 98 cents for every 10 dollars you’re spending, nor are they twisting the law in any way to make us pay more for no reason. The fact they’re charging the tax outright is kind of a service to us as consumers especially as we may be on the cusp of some very major changes regarding the online tax environment in the near future. It makes for an easier transition for all of us.
